In September 2011, The Wall Street Journal reported from Kabul that U.S. officers found that patients at the hospital were routinely dying of simple infections and starving to death, while corrupt doctors and nurses demanded bribes for food and basic care.
US military officers accused one of the highest-ranking US commanders in Afghanistan, Lieutenant General William Caldwell, of trying to cover up a horrifying scandal at a taxpayer-funded hospital in Kabul to limit bad news in an election year, the AFP reports.
Colonel Mark Fassl, who testified Tuesday, said he was shocked when Lt. Gen. William Caldwell cited the then-upcoming 2010 congressional elections as the reason not to investigate the hospital.
The general reportedly said at the time: “How could we … make this request with elections coming? He calls me Bill.”
Col. Fassl said he believed the “he” in that statement was a reference to President Obama.
Two retired colonels who worked with the training command also told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that Caldwell did not want an investigation of the Dawood National Military Hospital, and one described the building as having “Auschwitz-like conditions.”
U.S. taxpayers spent more than $150 million on the hospital in just 18 months, according to CNN.
CNN has video of the hospital, and more information on the investigation (Warning: Graphic Photos):
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